Tuesday, Jun 12, 2007, 12:12 am

The U.S. special counsel has called on President Bush to discipline General Services Administration chief Lurita Alexis Doan "to the fullest extent" for violating the federal Hatch Act when she allegedly asked political appointees how they could "help our candidates" during a January meeting.

In a June 8 letter to Bush, Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch accused Doan of "engaging in the most pernicious of political activity" during a Jan. 26 lunch briefing involving 36 GSA political appointees and featuring a PowerPoint presentation about the November elections by the White House's deputy director of political affairs.
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Bloch's letter caps an investigation that included interviews with more than 20 political appointees and a review of 1,100 pages of evidence. The goal was to determine whether Doan violated the Hatch Act, which restricts executive branch employees from using their positions for political purposes. The president can take a range of actions, from rejecting the recommendations to dismissing Doan.

"I recommend that Administrator Doan be disciplined to the fullest extent for her serious violation of the Hatch Act and insensitivity to cooperating fully and honestly in the course of our investigation," Bloch wrote.